Inside Dolly Parton’s Recent Health Woes as the Music Icon Turns 80

The queen of country is officially 80! The world is celebrating Dolly Parton as the “9 to 5” singer marks her 80th year on Monday, just four months after she first opened up about her recent health issues.

The Grand Ole Opry marked Parton’s 80th birthday with the Opry Goes Dolly on Saturday, an event that featured performances from Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson, Rhonda Vincent, and Trannie Anderson, but which Parton could not attend in person.

“I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you’re all coming together again this year to celebrate my big ol’ birthday with some of my songs,” Parton said in a message posted on the venue’s Instagram. “Some of my favorite memories happened right here on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I wish I could be there in person, but I’ll be sending you all my love, for sure.”

The Grammy winner assured fans in October that she was “not dying,” but would have to withdraw from some of her obligations due to health concerns that had popped up while she was caring for her husband, Carl Dean, prior to his death in March at age 82.

“Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” Parton said at the time. “So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, we need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.”

“Nothing major,” she assured, “but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there, but I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”

The following month, Parton shared a pre-recorded message for attendees of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Hall of Fame induction ceremony, saying that she while she wished she could have attended in celebration of Dollywood, she had been “dealing with a few health challenges this fall” and been told to “take it easy” by her doctors.

Last month, Miley Cyrus, who is Parton’s goddaughter, shared a health update on the “Jolene” singer while walking the red carpet for the premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash, telling Entertainment Tonight that the star was keeping her spirits high despite a difficult year.

“She’s always going to keep the show going. The show must go on,” Cyrus said at the time. “So she’s just excited to get back to work.”